Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 76000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“I get it. Having Rose around can be disconcerting.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
I take a deep breath. I don’t want to lose Wally, so telling him to man up and tell the ghost to take a hike probably isn’t the best solution here.
“Let me see what I can do.”
I walk inside and hear some hammering upstairs as well as some movement in the small dining room.
Then I smell the roses.
I know for a fact that Luna hasn’t started the weekly flower deliveries yet, so this is all Rose, the ghost of a woman who died about a hundred and fifty years ago.
“Rose,” I say firmly, trying to sound authoritative. “I need you to stop scaring the workers. I know that you’ve saved our butts in the past, but I promise you that there’s no danger here to anyone. We need to finish up so Luna can finally open for business.”
“People would be nuts to stay here,” Wally mutters behind me, and he’s answered by a loud slamming door upstairs.
“Okay.” I whirl around and scowl at Wally. “I get that she scares you. I’m sorry about that, but we are almost finished. If you just put in some earbuds or something and ignore her, you’ll be all finished by the end of the week, and you never have to step foot in here again. She won’t hurt you. Please don’t quit.”
“Thought about it,” he admits. “The music isn’t a bad idea. I’ll try that.”
“Good. Thank you.” I turn back toward the stairs. “Hear that, Rose? He’s going to make an effort. I’d appreciate it if you would do the same.”
“Does she bug everyone like this?”
“Actually, no. I wonder why she doesn’t like you?”
Wally sighs and shifts from foot to foot. “I think I know.”
“Enlighten me.”
He clears his throat while he eyes the stairs. “My great-grandpa worked for her and did some repairs on the lighthouse and stuff. Maybe she didn’t like him.”
Another slam.
“Looks like you’ve hit the nail on the head.” I shake my head. “Get over it, Rose. Wally isn’t his great-grandpa. Please be nice to him.” Then I pat Wally’s shoulder. “Thanks for hanging in there.”
He nods. “I’m going to go find those earbuds.”
While he does that, I walk through to the kitchen and smile to myself. The inn gleams in beautiful, polished walnut and smells of freshly baked cookies.
“You’re just in time,” Luna says and gestures to Mira, who’s pulling out two baking trays from the industrial wall oven.
“I love it when I have good timing.”
“I’m also baking a pie,” Mira says with a wink. “So, save room.”
“You won’t get any argument out of me. How are things at the restaurant?”
Three Sisters Kitchen is owned by Mira and her two sisters, Cordelia and Darla. They also bought into the kitchen side of this inn with Luna, so I know the three of them have to be incredibly busy.
“Hopping,” she says with a laugh and uses a towel to wipe at a little sweat on her forehead. “We hired two new chefs, and even though we haven’t opened here yet, I suspect I’ll need to hire more.”
“Not a bad problem to have.” I reach for a fresh chocolate chip cookie, take a bite, then sigh in absolute happiness. “So good.”
“So good,” Luna agrees and takes another bite of her own cookie. “How are you? Did you meet with my brother at the chapel?”
“Yeah.” The mention of Apollo almost ruins the cookie for me. Almost. “He annoys the hell out of me, but we’ll get everything worked out. In the meantime, I’m overseeing the wrap-up on this place, and then I’ll dig into my own.”
“We got the okay on the kitchen, plumbing, and electrical from the county,” Luna informs me, but when I just grin, she rolls her eyes. “You already know that.”
“I’m the contractor. Of course, I know. The health department will be back to do a final walk-through once everything is done.”
“It’s all coming together,” Mira says with a happy sigh. “At last.”
“I know it took longer than planned.” I pop the rest of the cookie into my mouth. “And I’m sorry for it, but I wanted it all done right.”
“Honestly, I think it’s happening right when it’s supposed to,” Luna replies. “Besides, I wasn’t ever mad at you so much as a little disappointed and frustrated for you, so there is no need to apologize. I’m going to take reservations from locals so they have a chance to stay here free of charge and experience it before I open it up to vacationers. Kind of like a soft opening.”
“I think that’s smart.” I nod, thinking it over. “Many of those people own businesses that cater to tourists, so it would be great marketing. If they love it, which we all know they will, they’ll recommend the inn to their customers.”